Coulthard seemed to have the race sewn up as he pulled away with Irvine stuck behind Barrichello, but after his pit stop David struggled with the car and when Irvine pitted the Ferrari driver was able to get into the lead. The McLaren improved as the fuel burned off but Coulthard was stuck behind the Ferrari and stayed there until the finish, the two crossing the line separated by only 0.313s. Hakkinen drove a brilliant recovery to finish third but he was angry as his lead in the World Championship had been cut from eight points to two.